{"id":469847,"date":"2026-09-20T08:32:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T08:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/469847\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T08:32:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T08:32:16","slug":"no-4-cal-splits-day-2-of-overnght-mpsf-invitational","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/469847\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 4 Cal Splits Day 2 Of Overnght MPSF Invitational"},"content":{"rendered":"

STANFORD \u2013 The No. 4 California men’s water polo team had a split performance on day two of the Overnght MPSF Invitational on Saturday defeating No. 13 UC Irvine 16-8 before being edged out by No. 1 UCLA 11-10 in the semifinal round.
\n\u00a0
\nThe Golden Bears’ first loss of the season sets them up for a chance at bronze tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. PT. Cal (8-1) will face the winner of this evening’s battle between No. 2 USC and No. 3 Stanford.
\n\u00a0
\nNo. 4 Cal 16, No. 13 UC Irvine 8
\nCal came out firing in the first game of the day mounting an 8-0 run in the first five minutes. Six different Bears found the net in the run including sophomores Beso Akhvlediani<\/a> and Kai Inoue<\/a> who each had two.
\n\u00a0
\nThe Anteaters (8-4) were quick to respond, cutting that lead in half by quarter’s end, but the deficit was too deep as Cal padded the lead by winning the second quarter 4-1 to go up 12-5 at the half. The Bears held UCI scoreless in the third which all but sealed their eighth straight win.
\n\u00a0
\nAkhvlediani ended the contest with four goals, an assist, and a steal and three others joined him in double figures. Inoue dished out three assists to give him a five-point day as well. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Aran Pina<\/a> played the first three quarters and collected seven saves and a steal before junior Riley Clansen<\/a> entered in the fourth.
\n\u00a0
\nNo. 1 UCLA 11, No. 4 Cal 10
\nCal showed resilience in its first game against a higher-ranked opponent this season pushing the No. 1 Bruins to the final play. After quickly falling behind 2-0, underclassmen Ilias Angelopoulos<\/a> and Tomas Perrone<\/a> chipped in a pair of goals to even the score, but UCLA scored twice more with just a minute to go to take the opening period 4-2 and ended the first half with a five-goal lead at 8-3.
\n\u00a0
\nThe Bears came out of the half with a sense of urgency and went on a 3-0 run to make it a two-goal game while holding the nation’s top team scoreless for just under seven minutes. The two teams exchanged goals at the end of the third period giving the Bruins a 9-7 lead.
\n\u00a0
\nWith just under four minutes to go Cal found itself down 10-7, but the Bears did not quit as junior Dominic Brown<\/a> started a 3-1 run with a highly-contested goal from the middle. Akhvlediani followed with a rocket of a goal and immediately followed that with a steal that would lead to a penalty drawn by junior Alex Oprea<\/a>. Akhvlediani deposited the five-meter shot to cut the lead to one for the first time since late in the opening period.
\n\u00a0
\nWith an 11-1 lead and just 40 seconds UCLA had a chance to put the game away drawing an exclusion to earn the powerplay. Despite playing down a man, the Bears got the stop with 13 seconds to go and had a chance to force the game to overtime but missed the game-tying shot at the buzzer.
\n\u00a0
\nAfter a slow start Cal won the second half 7-3 and held the Bruins to a season-low 11 goals. The Bears’ defense stood tall when it was needed most coming up with timely turnovers and forcing UCLA to go 11-for-29 from the field. Pina played the full 32 minutes and secured eight saves.
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nSTAY POSTED
\nFor further coverage of Cal men’s water polo, follow the Bears on X (@CalWaterPolo<\/a>) and Instagram (@calmwaterpolo<\/a>).
\n\u00a0